The United States (US), Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, has resigned following backlash over the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, reports say.
There have been calls for Cheatle’s resignation and a push by Republican lawmakers to impeach her.
Lawmakers were particularly incensed after her appearance for public testimony in front of the House Oversight Committee on Monday, where she was unwilling to answer many of the committee’s questions.
In the initial wake of the shooting, Cheatle was emphatic that she would not step down.
A few weeks ago, a 20-year-old gunman bypassed Secret Services agents and shot at the former Republican president and current White House candidate at a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The gunman opened fire on Trump with an AR-style assault rifle just minutes after he began speaking at the campaign event.
Perched on the roof of a nearby building, he was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper less than 30 seconds after firing the first of eight shots.
Investigators have concluded the young man, who lived in a town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Butler, acted alone, and have not been able to identify any strong ideological or political leanings.
Two rally attendees were seriously wounded in the attack and a 50-year-old Pennsylvania firefighter, Corey Comperatore, was shot dead.
Trump’s former physician said over the weekend that the Republican candidate sustained a two-centimeter (almost one inch) gunshot wound on his right ear.
“The bullet passed, coming less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head, and struck the top of his right ear,” said ex-White House physician Ronny Jackson.
Cheatle served as a Secret Service agent for 27 years before leaving in 2021 to become the head of security in North America for PepsiCo.
She was named to head the agency by President Joe Biden in 2022.
AFP